Requests for relief totaled more than twice as much as available funds



department of agriculture


*For Immediate Release*




*Media* *Contact:* Larry Schumacher,

MDA Communications

651-201-6629

[email protected]




August 22, 2022

Previous Announcements [ [link removed] ]




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Drought Relief Checks Begin Mailing This Week

Requests for relief totaled more than twice as much as available funds

*St. Paul, MN*: Checks to Minnesota livestock farmers and specialty crop producers who applied for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture?s (MDA) 2021 Agricultural Drought Relief Program (ADRoP) [ [link removed] ] will begin to be mailed this week.

A total of 2,922 out of 3,000 received applications were approved, totaling $18.9 million in eligible requests. The total request was more than double the $8.1 million appropriated by the Legislature for ADRoP this spring.

Because the legislation stipulated that all qualifying applicants must receive a payment, checks will be pro-rated to 41.9% of the amount farmers were eligible to receive. While the legislation permitted up to $7,500 per eligible farmer, the maximum payment per farmer will be $3,143.

?We know this won?t make people whole from the extra costs they had last year,? Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said. ?But it should help people pay a few bills and that?s important this time of year.?

Following up with farmers who submitted incomplete applications or needed to submit documents made the process take a little longer than expected, but checks are now being processed and mailed as quickly as possible, Petersen said.

Drought-related expenses incurred after June 1, 2021, and before May 23, 2022 were eligible for funding.

Eligible expenses for specialty crop producers include water handling equipment; water hauling; wells; irrigation equipment; replacement plants, seeds, or seedlings; additional hired labor; farmers? market fees for canceled markets; and more.

Eligible expenses for livestock farmers include water-related expenses; feed-related expenses; custom bailing; equipment rental; livestock transportation; livestock pond dredging; cover crop, pasture, or forage replanting; fencing; grazing rights; additional hired labor; and more.

Farms must be located in a county designated by the United States Department of Agriculture as a primary natural disaster area after July 19, 2021 and before January 1, 2022, or in a county contiguous to a designated county. All Minnesota counties except Goodhue, Rice, Wabasha, and Winona were eligible.

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